This invention relates to a catheterization device and an associated catheterization method.
A catheterization procedure involves inserting a catheter into a vein of a patient, for example, for purposes of feeding an intravenous fluid to the patient. The catheter is inserted over a hypodermic needle whose distal tip has been inserted into the vein. Generally, a transparent chamber is connected to the needle at the proximal end thereof. Upon insertion of the needle into a blood vessel, blood flows into the chamber, thereby providing a visual signal or indication that vascular access has been attained.
A problem with conventional catheterization procedures is that sometimes an artery is pierced, rather than a vein, particularly where the artery is located close to a targeted vein. When the needle is removed from the artery, a large hematoma may result unless proper action is taken immediately. For example, pressure applied to the patient in the area of the punctured artery can stem the flow of blood and prevent the formation of a hematoma. The problem lies in immediately recognizing that an artery has been punctured. Generally, the conventional apparatus comprising a simple transparent chamber does not enable a person of ordinary skill and experience to detect the difference between a vein and an artery.
Sometimes, where the vein sought is in the chest region, a needle is inadvertantly inserted into a lung. Because there is a negative pressure envelope which surrounds the interior lining of the lung for maintaining the lung in an expanded, functional, configuration, a substantial compromise in the integrity of that envelope causes the lung to collapse. Lung collapse can occur when the piercing of the lung is not immediately recognized.